A conductive paste is used for forming an electronic component (for example, an electrode or an electrical wiring) included in a semiconductor element, an electronic apparatus, or an electronic display apparatus, for example, a solar cell panel or a liquid crystal display. In a conductive paste, silver powder is mainly used as a conductive filler, and this conductive paste is prepared in the form of a paste by mixing the conductive filler, a resin as a binder component, and other components such as a solvent with each other. In order to form an electrode or the like using a conductive paste, first, the conductive paste is applied to a surface of a substrate or the like using a coating method such as a screen printing method or an offset printing method to form a printed pattern thereon. Next, the printed pattern formed is dried or fired at a desired temperature to form an electrode or the like. This method of forming an electrode or the like using a conductive paste is preferable from the viewpoint of costs or the like because a large-sized apparatus which is used in, for example, a sputtering method of forming a wiring in a vacuum or the like is not necessary.
On the other hand, even in the technical field of forming an electrode or the like using a conductive paste, there are still many problems and areas to be improved, for example, improvement of conductivity or printing performance. For example, a conductive paste to be used has been studied in various ways, and, for example, various improvements and developments have been made. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a conductive silver paste including, as essential components: silver particles (A); a resin (B) that is solid at 25° C.; and an organic cyclic ether compound (C) having a flash point of 50° C. to 200° C., in which the amount of the organic cyclic ether compound (C) is 15 to 30 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the silver particles (A). With this conductive silver paste, a high-precision conductive pattern can be formed using a gravure offset printing method or the like at a low temperature within a short period of time.
In addition, for example, an active energy ray-curable conductive ink that a chlorinated polyester and an active energy ray-polymerizable compound are used as a binder component has been disclosed (for example, refer to Patent Document 2). In this conductive ink, the binder component includes the chlorinated polyester and the active energy ray-polymerizable compound. Therefore, the conductive ink has satisfactory fluidity and a low-resistance circuit can be formed.
In addition, a conductive ink composition including conductive particles and an organic vehicle which includes a thermosetting resin composition, a curing agent, and a solvent has been disclosed, and this conductive ink composition is prepared by mixing the thermosetting resin composition, which is an epoxy resin composition having specific characteristics, with the conductive particles at a predetermined mass ratio (for example, refer to Patent Document 3). In the conductive ink composition, the epoxy resin composition having specific characteristics is used. As a result, sufficient adhesion is obtained even when the adhesion area is narrow due to thinning, a highly reliable electrode having high heat resistance can be formed, and the conductive ink composition can be sufficiently cured by heating for a short period of time.